[TChad]

I had a completely different experience learning to read whole words, and took to it like a duck to water.

That was exactly my experience. I had no problems learning to read whole words. Once I discovered Hardy Boys novels there was no turning back.

Still, unlike some aggressive Phonics proselytizers, I am willing to accept that others may learn differently than I do.

[BruceDeitrickPrice]

1) A tiny percentage of people have photographic memories and might indeed learn to read with sight-words.

2) Most people who think they learned to read with sight-words actually did something different. They grasped the phonics inside the sight-words, solved the mystery of phonetic language, and proceeded normally.

3) If one does have a freaky ability, why mention that to other people who are struggling with more normal situations? I don't get the point. We can't extrapolate from someone's atypical experience to how we should organize public schools.

4) Thanks for the many smart comments. Yes, phonics is the only way. Yes, please start early so you can inoculate your kids against what might happen in the public schools. (For the basics on teaching young children to read, see "Preemptive Reading." http://www.improve-education.org/id81.html )